Getting Rid Of Eczema, + Fasting Question

[wildatheart]

I am trying this again. I tried it two years ago and went off the tracks after 10 days when my husband came home from a month away. 

 

I need to get rid of eczema that has taken over my back and is starting on my chest. That is my main goal, although weight loss would be nice too. 

 

I have been practicing intermittent fasting for almost a year and have lost 40 lbs. I LOVE the intermittent fasting lifestyle. I am already a healthy eater (lean Nourishing Traditions, although I tend to limit grains as I do not even like them), but need to get rid of even organic sugar. With intermittent fasting I can eat whatever I want, I just have to do it within a 5 hour window. This has been great for a year, but I have plateaued big time--been the same weight for a good two months now. I *could* be happy at my current size 12, but I'd love to lose another 25 lbs to get to a size 8. 

 

I say all that to ask: do I need to give up my intermittent fasting lifestyle to do a Whole 30? I don't even know what eating all day feels like anymore, and am afraid I would actually put on weight. Like absolutely terrified. It's been too much work for me to get this far. 

 

Any info/advice is appreciated! 

[Tom Denham]

Intermittent fasting is almost certainly part of your problem if you honestly need to lose another 25 pounds. The cooperation of your hormones is critically important to losing body fat and IF is very hard on your hormonal rhythms. See this article for an important discussion of IF: http://huntgatherlove.com/content/when-not-fast

 

We ask people who are doing a Whole30 for the first time not to fast, but to eat at least 3 meals per day, the first one within one hour of waking in the morning. And really, we strongly discourage fasting any time you are doing a Whole30. 

[wildatheart]

hmmm...interesting article, thanks. I really do love the convenience of IF. I am a student and a homeschooling mother to seven children, so food is sometimes just...inconvenient.

 

I lost my first 30 lbs in 3.5 months with IF. It then took another 4 months and a stomach virus to lose another 12 lbs. I always found that I had TONS of energy and the will to get through any hunger pangs, no matter how fierce. But, to be honest, I do feel lower energy now (though, as a steady-energy person, I've never had much problem in that regard), and have had prolonged true hunger--stomach growling, not just "wanting to eat". I just can't get past this point! I am still nursing my 3 year old, though not often throughout the day, obviously. I just figured my body was done giving up fat for now, but maybe it needs a break from the IF. 

 

I've also been thinking that doing anything all the time is unnatural. In times past, people ate when they had food, and didn't when food was scarce. It was not a 5 hour eating window everyday. They didn't even think about it, they just ate according to their supplies. So maybe too I'm being too predictable. I almost never cheat. It's become a discipline.